


A River of Light

by Digigal_transbian



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27847310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Digigal_transbian/pseuds/Digigal_transbian
Summary: A temporal sailor dreams of a far off world.
Kudos: 1





	A River of Light

In Galaxy Ignilior of Cluster Virgo, there is a star. Around that star is a planet where space flows like time and ripples and changes to the slowly nostalgic melody of its natives. Their sound is old and new and that which has and always will be, yet always changing.

This planet of Tractayt is home to crystal oceans and an orange tinted sun. It is home to old and new, always was and always could be. The orange sun falls over the rolling mountains on the horizon. Palm trees rustle under the cool twilight breeze, their spring green leaves seeming to glow under the fading light.

Turquoise grass covers the expansive plains, bright carnation pink stone sticking out yet fitting in perfectly. Pillars mark the well worn trails, carved in a style reminiscent of ancient Rome.

Orbs of briny ocean water float in the sky around cores of vibrant coral, veritable rainbows of tropical fish dancing in rhythmic motions without a care in the world. Polygonal edges mark where the water ends and sky begins.

The sky rolls with the waves of the wind. Its flow is steady, tranquil. One could stare at it for ages uninterrupted, able to think quietly with a newfound serenity.

Strange metallic cubes rotate peacefully in the sky, reflecting their surroundings and simply being. Never have they been disturbed, nor will they be.

A city of blackest stone sits against the vibrant backdrop marked with glowing neon borders. A prism floats above the center of the town, rainbow light pouring off of it and painting the world below in beautiful shades of every color. The light catches against each corner, illuminating walkways aligned in a simple grid. Inside the city of Vawelek, geometric buildings line the black streets. Vapoz walk the streets, living and enjoying life as they will.

Were a human to describe the features of the Vapoz, they would compare them to nineties computer animation who sing in tones of worn cassettes. They look like the past and the future in the present. Each corner of their polygonal bodies shifts and ripples, giving them an illusion of unnatural smoothness. The Vapoz are someone familiar, yet someone new. Old friends, new family.

Their language can be described as an echoing song, vaguely reminiscent of the English and Japanese languages of Earth. Their text is large, rigidly set as if a typewriter set every glyph, and displayed in neon signs almost exclusively. It is a world of color and old sound that is made new.

Time passes.

A purple hue fills the night sky, their atmosphere distorting the stars against glowing static clouds. Few among them look up on this night to watch the glitchy clouds meander on by, each sudden shift being carefully and calmly observed by the wandering populace.

Tractayt is a world of living day to day, enjoying the simple little pleasures that so many ignore for an ultimate goal.

Life continues, the clock ticks on, and time flows like the rivers of light that carve through the landscape.

Is it not enough to just be? Must a story need conflict? Can it not just be an image told with a thousand words?

Ah, but this is not that day. For far away and awhen on a ship who sails the stars of time, a sailor is simply wishing to visit such a beautiful planet.

Instead, they sit cataloguing alternate timelines.

"Flooded Earth, Martian humans, Earth but Japan took over everything, Earth but Venus and Mars are in a ternary system together, Another Nazi Earth timeline, great stars how many of those are there?"

"Technically infinite like every other timeline possibility. Mark that one for later, though," Their Diacrysian senior officer, Malachite 9-QVX03, speaks up from her console, "We throw cadets through those all the time for temporal execution training. In the event of high priority incursions, they need to be able to neutralize a problem without anyone noticing. Gives 'em something to do and not feel too bad about. Also gives us a testing ground for temporal weapons. If all else fails, we'll just blow it up."

"Noted."

"That's what they're doing when they mention going to the target range."

"I see."

A lumbering mass of what could have once been flesh meanders into the room. Its mouth is full of too many teeth, too many eyes dot its face. Idly twitching limbs bent at unnatural angles hang at their side, baring the general image of a set of arms. They smell of steak, ash, and cherries, oddly enough.

Malachite waves to the mass, "Hey, Gon."

"How's it going, Mals?" Gonthramox greets in return, whose name is only a general approximation in Syndicate Standard as most humanoid species lack the ability to make some of the sounds required to say their name properly.

"Repetitive." The fairy winged Diathyne with lime green skin replies, their curly deep emerald hair bouncing slightly as they turn to face their eldritch looking coworker. Crystal facets make up every aspect of their skin, looking as though they were carved from a vein of raw malachite and polished. Their crystal nexus sits exposed against their neck, the very thing that gives them form glinting in the pale artificial light. Glowing spiderweb cracks seem to rest inside of their nexus, flowing and pulsing like the veins of an organic.

"Sounds like a fun Tuesday then." Gon chuckles before turning their attention to the sailor, "Let's get some food, fresh. I'll get your shift after."

The sailor sighs, standing from their seat with a long stretch. They pop their shoulders as they loosen up, before making their way to their coworker from the Orpglez species.

They walk down well lit corridors, the dull thrum of mechanical life rolling all around them inside the walls.

An observation window catches their eye. Beyond the threshold of reinforced glass, sits the time stream in all its glory. An endless sea of infinite possibility stretching out towards forever.

"Time is so beautiful and fascinating and anything can happen!" The sailors cheer at the same volume as ever, "But by the stars is timeline sorting a slog."

"Yeah," Gonthramox nods, "I feel you there."

They reach the cafeteria and find it to be bustling, teeming with life from all corners of the galaxy. The smells of cuisine from could less species flood their senses, a cacophony of aroma spiralling and blending freely, just as the galaxy they hail from.

The line to the reception is thankfully clear, allowing them to stroll right up to the window and place their orders with the chef.

"I'll take the orange barbeque kevolk, the fried rice, and some Delkori tea."

"I'll take the usual, Vego."

The chef nods, "Got it, you're at booth 13-Y, it's off near the wall, blue light."

"Thanks." The sailor thanks as the two make their way off to find their seat.

Finding booth 13-Y is a challenge as always, but the two manage to find it without too much difficulty. The blue light pointed them in the right direction, but finding the actual booth proves to them that no matter how much time passes, some things never change.

Their food is delivered to them by the chef, the two giving their thanks before digging in.

The kevolk meat tastes vaguely like sea chicken. It is a specialty of the Letrain, juicy and fatty in all the right ways. The rice soaks up the stray juices, infusing an even deeper flavor into the dish. A ring of orange slices surrounds the plate, shavings of their peel having been shaved onto the cooking chicken.

"How's your art been going?" Gon asks as he takes a bite of whatever unidentifiable substance is on his plate. Whatever it is, the sailor has never seen it before. It looks vaguely like curry, but also has a slightly pulsating color and disturbingly pleasant aroma.

The sailor shrugs, "I've got some pieces going, but they don't really feel like they want to be finished? I feel like I'm not good enough to actually enjoy the process, like I'm just a cheap poser with a pencil. You get me?"

"I do. Who says you have to be good at an art to enjoy it? Is it not enough to simply enjoy the act of creation?" Gonthramox muses, taking a sip of their whiskey.

"Fair, fair."

A comfortable silence passes between them, the noise of forks against plates and a room full of idle chatter filling the air.

"To life." Gon raises their glass of Selvolra whiskey in toast.

"To life." Glass clinks.

They finish their meals, making sporadic small talk while casually people watching, the sights and sounds of various species making perfect fodder for ideas to emerge.

"I think you should head back to your quarters and take some time off." Gon says, ordering their crewmate with no real heat, "You need to make up on the sleep you've been missing because of your obsessive timeline sorting. You're a chronic workaholic, some time away will do you good."

"But-"

"The time tree will still be there tomorrow. Sleep is more immediately important." Gon blankly locks all of their numerous eyes on them, "Even that weird crystal blue guy with the wings thinks you need it."

The sailor raises an eyebrow, "You mean that guy that's probably sleeping with the captain?"

Gon scoffs out a laugh, "Probably? You know he is."

"Actually, I'm in a happy relationship with someone else, thank you very much." A familiar set of naturally cyan fur and crimson red eyes appears behind them.

"Where did you even come from?" Gon starts at the voice, warily eyeing their wings that shift through every color of the rainbow, radiating outward from the middle of their back. Curled golden pauldrons cover their shoulders, their robes a clean white that seems to glow with a sigil in the shape of the scales of balance over the left breast. A slate grey undersuit sits against their fur, marked with evenly spaced black rings.

The unknown alien from anywhere laughs, their rainbow wings shifting to a more violet tone, "Wouldn't you like to know? Besides, I'm just a wanderer. I come and go just as the tides."

"Isn't that a way to live?" Gon wistfully remarks, "To explore what life can be? You know, Gali'us, I've been thinking about spending some time on a tropical world in the cosmic rainbow layer."

"Ah, I've been there before." Gali'us replies, the sound of dreams in his voice, "I prefer spending time in the vast cosmos myself, disappearing into strange corners of euclidean space with only my shuttle and the stars."

"That sounds like a dream." The sailor sighs, "A visit to the planet Tractayt has been on my mind for months now."

"You should go, it's beautiful this time of year." Gali'us offers, flicking their tails idly.

"What time?"

"Any time. It's a beautiful place." The tailed alien shrugs, "Anyways, I'm off. Places to be and whatnot. See you all when I see you."

Gali'us stalks off around a corner, vanishing in the blink of a crystal chime, heading towards some unknown star, far away in an unknown place at an unknown time.

'Yeah,' the sailor thinks, 'I think that sounds like a great idea.'


End file.
